1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the transportation of garments, clothing and other items to and from a laundry or dry cleaner, and more particularly to improved multiple garment bag systems and methods of use that conserve natural resources by avoiding unnecessary use of polypropylene garment and dry cleaning bags.
2. Description of Related Art
Bags for carrying dry cleaning and laundry, as well as luggage for carrying garments are known in the art. Often, dry cleaning and laundry service providers will provide reusable bags to their customers for use in collecting soiled or dirty laundry, garments and/or other items of clothing to be laundered or dry cleaned. When full, the bag filled with such items is delivered to the facilities of the laundry or dry cleaner. The items are then cleaned, and folded or hung on hangers by the cleaner according to instructions from the customer. Typically, large polypropylene sheets or bags are pulled over groups of clean hanging items to prevent them from being soiled during the return trip to the customer. The empty garment bag is also returned.
A typical reusable laundry or dry cleaning transport bag has an opening at one end that may be opened wide for insertion of garments, clothing and/or other items and then pulled closed using a drawstring or other cord. Another well known style of reusable laundry bag is provided with one or more hooks that allow the bag to be hung from a closet clothing rod for convenient storage, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,815,785; 5,370,230 and 6,708,819. Such bags are typically only used for transportation of dirty or soiled items. Once cleaned, these items are not returned to the customer in the same bag, but are separately hung and wrapped in polypropylene, or folded and placed in containers such as boxes, or the like.
The use of polypropylene bags in the laundry/dry cleaning industry is wasteful in that they are made from scarce petroleum resources, and they are almost immediately discarded following return of the cleaned garments to the customer. In addition, large polypropylene sheets and bags pose a suffocation hazard to small children. The garment bag disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,559 avoids the use of polypropylene by providing a dual-use bag having a large opening with a drawstring at one end, and a small opening at the other end. The bag is cleaned along with the laundry, then inverted, and pulled over the clean laundry, with the hanger hook(s) protruding through the small opening in the opposite end. However, this invention requires that the bag itself be made of sufficiently flexible, cleanable material which is likely to wear out in a relatively short period of time after several cleanings.
It is therefore desirable to provide systems, methods and apparatus for transportation of garments, clothing and other related items that avoids the use of polypropylene for the return of dry cleaned and laundered items, and that provides durable and long-lasting bags that may be used over and over to collect and return cleaned garments and clothing items to a customer.